lash in distributor shaft
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
lash in distributor shaft
I'm trying to nail the cause of a stumbling/surging in my 75 300/IL6, especially at idle. There seems to be a lot of lash in my dist shaft. The shaft itself, the whole dist unit, is new. I can turn the rotor button or the stator from 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock (15 degrees), which I think is more than normal. Is it? I have watched the button while cranking the engine by hand, and it moves as soon as I turn the crank, which suggests the timing gears are not the culprit. I'm thinking it might be the gear that drives the shaft. Should I be able to turn the button this much? and if not, what is the likely cause of the play?
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
Thinking about it after, I realized that I should have held the button while turning the crank by hand, and indeed there's a lot of play there, so it could be the timing gears (I understand there's no chain in this engine). I guess I'll pull the cover off and have a look at them.
Elder User
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 685
Likes: 0
From: Cape Coral, Florida
I'm trying to nail the cause of a stumbling/surging in my 75 300/IL6, especially at idle. There seems to be a lot of lash in my dist shaft. The shaft itself, the whole dist unit, is new. I can turn the rotor button or the stator from 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock (15 degrees), which I think is more than normal. Is it? I have watched the button while cranking the engine by hand, and it moves as soon as I turn the crank, which suggests the timing gears are not the culprit. I'm thinking it might be the gear that drives the shaft. Should I be able to turn the button this much? and if not, what is the likely cause of the play?
Stinky
Cranky Old Guy
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,562
Likes: 6
From: Raphine, Virginia
To check for slack in timing chain, watch rotor and rotate crankshaft back and forth with a socket and breaker bar. Watch for how much you have to move crank before rotor starts to move.
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
When I turned the crank with a socket before, I turned it only one way (clockwise). When I did it again today, I tried it in both directions, which I've since learned is the right way to do it, and found that, once the distributor starts turning, if I reverse direction, the crank will turn maybe 15 degrees or more before the dist starts turning again. I understand these engines (the IL6 300) don't have a timing chain, but a direct gear set-up. Does the result of my test suggest wear on these gears?
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
'73 250
FE & FT Big Block V8 (332, 352, 360, 390, 406, 410, 427, 428)
3
Feb 16, 2005 11:28 PM
